Quiz: How much do you know about Iron Maiden's breakthrough masterpiece The Number Of The Beast?

Features
By ( Classic Rock, Metal Hammer ) published

Test your knowledge of one of heavy metal's defining albums

Iron Maiden in Japan, late 1982
(Image credit: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)

Iron Maiden's third studio album, The Number of the Beast, released in March 1982, marked a definitive moment in heavy metal history.

It was the band’s first album to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson, the former Samson frontman whose operatic "air-raid siren" range replaced the abrupt, punkier stylings of the fired Paul Di'Anno, and introduced the phrase "Scream for me [insert name of city]! into the metal lexicon. The album was also the pinnacle of the NWOBHM movement, the moment that separated Maiden from the nearly-rans, the also-rans and the never-rans.

Thematically, The Number of the Beast explores mythology, history, horror literature, and, uhm, sex work. The title track, with its chanted, punch-the-air chorus ('Six! Six Six!' etc.), famously sparked controversy, leading to accusations of Satanism and album burnings in the United States, which only fuelled the album's notoriety and commercial success. People never learn.

Other standout tracks included the rattling Run To The Hills, with Clive Burr's iconic drum intro, and the epic, nearly ten-minute closer Hallowed Be Thy Name – the tale of a prisoner about to be executed. The latter showcased a new level of songwriting maturity and complexity, while 22 Acacia Avenue didn't.

The album's impact was immediate. It became the band's first to top the UK Albums Chart and made significant inroads into the US market. It would go on to reach platinum status in four countries (US, UK, Canada and Australia) and gold in many more.

How much do you know about The Number Of The Beast? Find out below, and let us know how you did in the comments (and no Googling!).

In the current issue of Classic Rock, Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson speak about the early days of the band and how their partnership began.

Fraser Lewry
Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.

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